Neighboring Counties

Resources

Bible Records

The term "Bible records" refers to the practice of keeping family dates and events in a family Bible. This was a common practice in many European countries and carried over to America. Many of these family Bible records are still in existence and preserved by the descendants of the immigrants. In some cases these family Bibles have found their way into libraries and other repositories.

Biography

Biographies (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Utah, State Archives a collection digitized by FamilySearch (free), includes 1918-1991 Charleston Interment/Disinterment Registers and also the Charleston Sexton records.

Census

The 1870, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 U.S. federal population schedules of Wasatch County are available online. For tips on accessing census records online, see Utah Census. If you're having trouble finding your ancestors in national indexes, try checking local indexes. Created by experts familiar with the area's families, these indexes are often transcribed more accurately than nationwide indexes.

Court Records

Court Records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Gazetteers

Genealogy

History

Named for a Ute Indian word, meaning mountain pass or low place in the high mountains. The county seat is Heber City. It is largest city in the county.

Histories (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

History Timeline

NOTE: Unless otherwise mentioned, the events below were gleaned from Wikipedia for Wasatch county, Utah.

1850's. Heber City was founded by English emigrants who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the late 1850s, and is named after the Mormon apostle Heber C. Kimball.

1858. A wagon road was completed through Provo Canyon, which brought the first settlers to the area. Two small communities were established: Mound City and a lower settlement sometimes referred to as Smiths Grove. Smiths Grove was first settled by the Robey, Epperson, Bronson, McCarroll, and Smith families. Indian hostilities grew, and territorial governor, Brigham Young, encouraged settlers to build forts for protection. The two settlements built a fort, "midway" between the two communities.

1859. The first house was built by William Manning late in the year. Manning and George Noakes were the only residents until 1863. Heber City was first settled in 1859 by Robert Broadhead, James Davis and James Gurr. John W. Witt built the first house in the area. The area was under the direction of Bishop Silas Smith who was in Provo.

1860.Joseph S. Murdock became the bishop over the Latter-day Saints in Heber City and vicinity.

1860's/1870's. A large number of Swiss immigrants arrived, including the Gertsch,Boss, Huber, Kohler, Probst, Zenger, Durtschi, Krebs, Murri, and Abegglen families. Descendants of some of these families still live in Midway. The finding of silver, gold and lead sparked the first silver mines in Park City.

1861. John H. Van Wagoner constructed the first commercial gristmill. Bonner Mercantile Store was the first retail store.

1862. Wasatch County was created 17 January 1862 from Davis and Green River Counties (old). There is no longer a Green River County. County seat: Heber City [4]

1862. Wallsburg was established.

1877. The Charlston Ward was formed in July, with Nymphus C. Murdock as bishop.

1898. Once the site of the largest silver-mining camp in the country, Park City was virtually destroyed by fire.

1900's. The basin at the top of the canyon in Park City was good for grazing, and a few families settled there. Early on, the area was deeded to Samuel Snyder, Heber C. Kimball and Jedediah Grant. The settlers named it "Parley's Park City", which was shortened to "Park City" in the early 1900s.

1902. Tragedy struck when 34 miners were killed in an explosion in the Day West Mine in Park City.

1947. Midway Swiss Days brings thousands of people to the town. The event was started through the efforts of Luke's Hot Pots Resort owners, Joseph B. and Pauline S. Erwin and was originally called Harvest Days.

1950's. While silver was thriving in Utah, other mines across the world were depleted, drawing many of these miners to Park City. The town flourished with crowds of miners and wealth. However, the city nearly became a ghost town by the end of the 1950s because of a drop in the price of silver, and the determent of World War I and the Great Depression.

Historical Facts

Wasatch county was named for a Ute Indian word meaning mountain pass or low place in the high mountains

Newspapers

Small town newspapers contain obituaries, birth or death notices, community news (such as the visit of someone's relatives), legal notices and provide historical content. See Utah newspapers for tips, resources, and details.

Utah Digital Newspapers Project presents newspaper images online. Search All Newspapers by name or keywords, or Browse by County to view all newspapers digitized for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy.

Obituaries

Obituaries may mention birth, marriage, spouse, parents, and living family members. See Utah Obituaries for state level compendiums and United States Obituaries for tips and insights regarding this record type.

Periodicals

Poorhouses, Poor Law, etc.

In Utah, such records may be difficult to find. Try records of the church they may have attended. Realize, however, that such records may have not been preserved, and would not be in the typical records of membership.

It is possible there were records kept by civilian authorities. Ask town or county officials and local librarians and the State Archives. Also try National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (online).

Societies

Taxation

Vital Records

Vital Records (microfilmed originals or published transcripts) are listed in the FamilySearch Library Catalog for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy. For other libraries (local and national) or to gain access to items of interest, see public libraries.

Birth

Below are the best sources to find birth information (dates and places of birth and names of parents) for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy. Also available: How to Find Birth Information in Utah.

Follow the suggestions under the year span that matches when your ancestor was born:

Before 1862

Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy was formed on 17 January 1862.

If your records show the person was born here before the county was formed, search parent counties

Before county formation, go to Utah Censuses to locate the family around the time of birth.

1862-1897

No birth records were created for Wasatch County, Utah Genealogy by either by county or state civil authorities in this time period.

Follow these suggestions to find birth information for this time period:

Utah Death Certificates 1904-1961 give birth date and place (recorded at the time of death), names of parents, and name of spouse. Search by names or by exact death date.

Church records usually give birth date and place and names of parents.

See also neighboring counties for birth information, due to family members living in that area, religious preferences, convenience, and other reasons.

1898-present

County clerks became responsible for recording births beginning in 1898. In 1905, the State Department of Health assumed responsibility and required the counties to forward copies of the records to them.

It took a few years after the requirements for people, doctors, midwives, and officials to comply, so some early birth registrations were missed.

Records open to the public

Birth records created more than 100 years agoState Department of Health Birth, Marriage, and Death Certificates page. are open to the public.

Death

Utah Death Certificates 1904 - 1956 -A free internet access to the 1904-1956 death certificates can be viewed on the https://www.familysearch.org/ . Utah requires a death certificate before a burial is completed. A death certificate may contain information as to the name of the deceased, date of death, and place of death, as well as the age, birthdate, parents, gender, marital status, spouse and place of residence.